are people allowed to keep a bobcat as a pet

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Depending upon where you live, it may or may not be legal. They are wild animals and can be unpredictable. This is not to say that you cannot keep one as a pet (if it is legal); however, at the minimum, you should at least require access to a large OUTDOOR roaming space, such as an enclosure. Whether or not they are good with children, I cannot guarantee and will not guarantee. I have friends who have had bobcats that made GREAT companions, but also know people who have had horrid experiences with bobcats. Because they are wild animals, it is important to educate yourself and check the laws in your area. Children should DEFINITELY NOT be left unattended near any wild animal, hand-reared or not.

If you are someone who has never had a wild animal as a pet and has no knowledge of how to go about it, but just wants one because "it's cool", I would caution you to think more than twice before bringing a wild animal into a home with children and keeping it in a house at all. In our state (Ohio) we've just had a sighting of a cougar or a Mountain Lion, and the Game Warden believes it was someone's pet that escaped or was turned loose because it got too big and possibly nasty. Last year, a man killed dozens of his wild animal "pets" by turning them loose and then commiting suicide. The police were forced to shoot lions, bears, wolves, etc. to keep the residents safe. There is said to be an entire colony of chimpanzees living in Florida that started when someone got a baby as a pet and then let it loose when it got too big and mean. Please tread very carefully before obtaining a wild animal as a pet. There are millions of homeless *(and tame) house cats that need homes.